September 30 – October 1, 2019:
ZUGDIDI-JVARI-MESTIA-LASDILI HIGHWAY:
This is the main road from Zugdidi to Mestia. Along the way, in Tsalenjikha, is the Enguri Dam.
Enguri Dam:
The Enguri Dam is a hydroelectric dam which is the world’s second highest concrete arch dam, with a height of 271.5 metres. It is the sixth largest dam in the world, the largest in the region.
Enguri Dam
Enguri River
Pictures of Base Jumpers at the Enguri Dam
Road Hazards:
The Zugdidi-Jvari-Mestia-Lasdili Highway is also full of hazards. There can be mud slides, animals on the road, and accidents (there are shrines along the road for the dead).
Mud across the road from a mud slide
Animals on the road
Shrine for car accident victim
Beautiful Scenery:
But, in addition to the road hazards, there is beautiful scenery along the highway.
Beautiful scenery along the highway
Old Bridge over the Enguri River
Fenced in Animals
Ushba Mountain (“Matterhorn of the Caucasus”)
MESTIA:
Located in the Caucasus Mountains, Mestia is a picturesque town that is surrounded by spectacular forests and alpine meadows.
Modern Architecture in Mestia
Queen Tamar Statue
Margiani House Museum
Exploring a Svaneti tower (Margiani House Museum)
Margiani tower – made of stones then covered with plaster to prevent climbing
Svaneti towers (owned by families/tribes – used for defense in rivalries
as well as place to go during winter avalanches)
Road hazards while exploring Svaneti towers of Mestia
(passing police car got kicked when one cow bit another cow)
Wooden bridge across a cobblestone street
Svaneti Museum
4 mile round trip hike to Chaladi Glacier
Delicious Kubdari meat pie (like stuffed crust pizza) and lemonade/pear juice for lunch
View of the mountains from Hatsvali Ski Lift
Mestia at Night
![]()
Laila Restaurant (great food and Georgian folk singing/dancing)
Svaneti Folk Polyphonic Singing/Dancing, Laila Restaurant
MESTIA TO USHGULI:
Love Tower:
It’s the legend surrounding the tower that truly sets it apart. The tale tells of a beautiful woman named Miaguli Pirveli, who fell in love with a skilled hunter, Otia Margvelani, during the Kvirikoba festival. Their love was complex; Otia was a married man with five children, and Miaguli was unwilling to disrupt his family.
Overcome by grief, Otia succumbed to an accident while hunting and fell into the Enguri river, meeting his tragic end. His wife, unable to bear the loss, threw herself into the river and perished. Legend has it that the couple was reincarnated as trout in the river. Miaguli, touched by their fate, had the tower built where she chose to spend the rest of her life, daily feeding the fishes she believed to hold the souls of the star-crossed lovers.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Love Tower
Views on the road to Ushguli:
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Views on the road to Ushguli
![]()
Road hazard on the way to Ushguli
USHGULI:
This area, which consists of five small villages, is the highest continually inhabited settlement in Europe, at 7,000 feet. Here, against the snowy backdrop of Mount Shkhara, the third-tallest mountain in Europe, medieval stone towers stand at attention like an immovable brigade.
The nearest town, located 30 miles away, is cut off by snow from October to April, which puts the local families in virtual isolation for most of the year. Yet in spite of Ushguli’s harsh climate, the Svans, a predominantly green-eyed Georgian tribe of Orthodox Christians with direct links to ancient Mesopotamia, have dwelled in this valley since at least the first millennium BC.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Queen Tamar Winter and Summer Towers and Church
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lamaria Church and Monastery exterior
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lamaria Church interior
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Other small churches
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Ethnographic Museum
![]()
![]()
![]()
Public toilets (outhouses)
![]()
![]()
Cafe – Bar – Souvenir Shop
![]()
Old Bridge
![]()
Svanetian playing the Chuniri
![]()
Cinema showing Bollywood (Indian filmmakers) award winning movie “Dede” shot in Ushguli
![]()
![]()
Streams
![]()
Guesthouse
![]()
![]()
Hay Field and Horse Tour
![]()
Barn Door
![]()
Old Tractor
![]()
Goat
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Pigs
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Towers
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Other Ushguli Pictures